Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that a new round of negotiations between the United States and Iran would begin in Switzerland on Friday, with the nuclear file to be taken up in the final stage of those talks, Al Arabiya reported.
Araghchi confirmed that Friday would also mark the official start of the Memorandum of Understanding — aligning with earlier US statements that the deal would be formally inked in Geneva on June 19.
The nuclear issue, he said, would be addressed in the concluding phase of the negotiations, signalling that Tehran views the nuclear dossier as the most consequential and complex element of the broader framework being negotiated over the coming 60-day window.
The foreign minister also issued a pointed warning regarding Israeli military activity, saying any Israeli attack on Lebanon or occupation of territory constituted a violation of the agreement with the United States, the outlet reported.
The warning came after Lebanese media reported a deadly Israeli strike on a vehicle in southern Lebanon following the peace deal announcement, with Hezbollah responding with missiles and drones.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly said Israeli forces would remain in security zones in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza "as long as necessary" and retained the freedom to act against attacks, a position that appears to be on a direct collision course with Tehran's reading of the agreement.
The MoU, signed electronically by President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, establishes a 60-day ceasefire framework during which both sides will negotiate the specifics of a final agreement.
Vance and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to meet Araghchi and Ghalibaf in Geneva on Friday, alongside Qatari and Pakistani mediators.
The nuclear elements of the MoU remain conditional, with both sides given 60 days to resolve the disposition of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium and the future of its enrichment programme.
Iran has reportedly reiterated its commitment to never acquiring a nuclear weapon, though US intelligence agencies have privately flagged doubts about Tehran's sincerity in following through on that commitment, Axios reported.
ALSO READ: JD Vance Explains What's There In Peace Deal; Says Iran Will Never Get Dime Of US Taxpayers Money
Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
